Yes, Planned Parenthood claims to do prenatal care, and yes, it’s a lie

The New York Times is reporting Planned Parenthood’s response to the viral Live Action video on Planned Parenthood’s prenatal deception (that already has 6.5 million views 24 hours after going up). Mary Alice Carter, a Planned Parenthood spokeswoman, is claiming Planned Parenthood never said their clinics all offered prenatal care. 12News is also reporting a claim from Arizona Planned Parenthood’s CEO: “They are taking us to task for something we never said we did…”

There’s just a little problem: reality (though, as evidenced by the Mammoshamvideo showing Planned Parenthood lying about providing mammograms, we know the abortion chain isn’t overly concerned with the facts). Planned Parenthood has continually presented itself as a prenatal care provider. The claims come from the very top, including Planned Parenthood president, Cecile Richards. Let’s review:

Cecile Richards claims Planned Parenthood does prenatal care.

Take a listen at 0:12-0:17 in this video to hear Richards herself claim that “prenatal care” is one of the “types of services folks depend on Planned Parenthood for.”

Richards has also insinuated that Planned Parenthood does prenatal care in multiple other ways, including her statement when Ohio Governor John Kasich defunded Planned Parenthood. Richards claimed he was “eliminating care for expectant mothers.”

Take this screenshot from Planned Parenthood’s own website. Although this Fort Worth, Texas, Planned Parenthood clearly gives the impression it provides prenatal care for women, when Live Action called the Texas affiliate that oversees this facility, a staffer replied that Planned Parenthood “doesn’t do no prenatal care,” advising that a woman would need an OBGYN — something the Planned Parenthood facility apparently doesn’t have — for that.

This next screenshot, also from Planned Parenthood’s own website, leads women to believe they can get prenatal care at New Jersey Planned Parenthoods. However, two New Jersey facilities informed Live Action investigators that they “used to” offer prenatal care, but not anymore. One advised the woman to go through an OBGYN or women’s care center (but wait, I thought that’s what Planned Parenthood was…). Terribly kind of Planned Parenthood to update their website for women looking for help. Other New Jersey facilities were clearer on what kind of prenatal care Planned Parenthood actually offers, despite online claims to the contrary, telling investigators a flat-out “no,” “we don’t offer prenatal care,” or finally, the factual information that no Planned Parenthoods in New Jersey offer prenatal care. Coulda fooled me.

The on-hold phone recording from the Virginia Beach, Virginia, Planned Parenthood says: “Did you know that Planned Parenthood can take care of all your reproductive health needs? Whether it’s an annual exam, pregnancy testing and counseling, prenatal care, we’re here for you with high-quality, low-cost services.” And yet, when a Planned Parenthood staffer gets on the phone and is asked by the woman calling if they offer prenatal care, she responds: “No we don’t, not at the moment.” Okey-dokey, then. (Take a listen to the video above to hear this exchange for yourself.)

What about Planned Parenthood’s claim that “100 percent” of their facilities do a first prenatal visit?

Glad you asked. Simply put, that’s bunk. On a number of the phone calls made by Live Action investigators, when the talk turned to prenatal care, the Planned Parenthood staffer couldn’t get rid of the woman soon enough. Some staffers resorted to turning the woman over to Google or the internet at large.

The Council Bluffs, Iowa, Planned Parenthood told the woman caller, “Um, we don’t offer any prenatal care.” When the woman asked, “Is there any other clinic you can refer me to?” Planned Parenthood replied, “…I don’t know of anything. I would look around on the internet.”

In Albuquerque, New Mexico, instead of offering a first prenatal visit, Planned Parenthood suggested that the pregnant woman “try Care Net. I think they do prenatal care.” Fairbanks, Alaska echoed the same statement when asked about prenatal care: “Not at all at Planned Parenthood.” When a pregnant woman walked in requesting prenatal care in Santa Fe, New Mexico, a male staffer insisted: “No, see, we don’t see pregnant women as a way of giving prenatal care.” When calling the Dallas, Texas, Planned Parenthood, a woman asked, “What kind of pregnancy services do you offer?” and received this response: “We only offer termination services.” In Boise, Idaho, an embarrassed Planned Parenthood staffer agreed that the name “Planned Parenthood” was “a deceptive name,” in part because the facility didn’t have OBGYNs on staff.

Perhaps before Planned Parenthood starts claiming that all of its facilities offer a first prenatal visit, their leadership should, you know, go visit them like Live Action did. A phone call would probably suffice, too.